Brad Marchand caps another rally for Bruins

BOSTON 
It’s not like the Bruins have been steamrolling teams, but their nickel-and-dime approach is having million dollar results.

For the 11th time in 18 games, Boston was locked in a one-goal drama during the final minutes on Saturday afternoon, and the result was their 14th victory in 19 starts.

Brad Marchand scored his fourth winning goal in the last six games with 2:16 left to play, and goalie Anton Khudobin — after surrendering two goals on the first four shots he faced — made 18 saves in a row as the Bruins won their sixth consecutive game, 3-2, over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.

“All the games have been tight,” agreed Milan Lucic, who drew the four-minute penalty that led to Marchand’s power-play goal. “When you look at last year, where we were blowing teams out a lot, maybe that’s why in the end we kind of took our foot off the gas pedal at times.

“In a way, it’s good that you have to give a full 60-minute effort, because that’s what it takes to win, and that’s what it’s been like so far.”

The Bruins ran into the NHL’s most prolific offense — the Lightning came in averaging 3.55 goals per game — and found themselves in a 2-0 hole just 8:38 into the game.

Both goals came on the power play against Boston’s best-in-the-league penalty killers. Steven Stamkos, the NHL’s leading scorer, and Alexander Killorn got the goals.

Stamkos’ 15th of the season extended his point streak to nine games (8-7-15).

“I really felt our guys had good jump. We were moving the puck well and doing a lot of good things even though we were down, 2-0,” B’s coach Claude Julien said. “It would have been easy for us to get away from our game, but ... at some point, you’ve got to trust that your game will get you where you want, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”

In the second period, the Bruins answered with their first home power-play goal of the season after an 0-for-27 start. Tyler Seguin rifled home a difficult-angle shot from deep in the left circle at 3:22.

“Personally, I wasn’t (aware of the home drought),” Seguin said, “but there you go — that’s over with, I guess.”

Rich Peverley tied it up just 71 seconds later with a wicked one-timer from an even more difficult angle in the left circle. It remained 2-2 until Marchand’s 11th goal of the season broke the deadlock.

With the score tied, 2-2, the Bruins also came up with a huge four-minute penalty kill at end of second period. Tampa Bay got only one shot on goal during the extended power play, the result of a double minor for high-sticking on Andrew Ference.

The Bruins were short-handed for more than 13 minutes of the game. They took nine minor penalties, the result of some questionable officiating both ways. Tampa Bay finished 2 for 8 on the power play.

Boston got a break when Brendan Mikkelson took a double minor for high-sticking Lucic in the chin and drawing just a trickle of blood with 5:39 left in the game. Lucic nearly lost his cool when, he said, a Tampa Bay player accused him of diving, but he managed to keep his composure.

“I didn’t like that at all,” Lucic said, “but he knows who he is, and I’m glad that we were able to beat him where it hurts the most.”

Marchand’s goal came with 37 seconds left on the four-minute advantage, on a nifty pass from Patrice Bergeron during a two-on-one break after the Lightning got caught deep pressing a short-handed situation.

“We gambled and wasted 58 minutes of hard, intelligent, paying-the-price work against the top team in the conference,” Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said after his team lost its fourth straight. “We wasted it with a gamble at the end. ...

“We’ve got a lot of players that need to learn how to win.”

After a slow start, Seguin has four goals and now has a point in six of the last seven games (2-5-7). The 21-year-old was active, taking nine shots, five of which reached goalie Mathieu Garon.

“I’ve been going in every game the same way, but obviously it’s just about bearing down on those chances,” Seguin said. “I felt like I was definitely shooting more pucks tonight, and I want to stick with that.”